Epicyclic variable speed gearing



Nov. 10, 1942. w. BROWN EPIcYcLIc VARIABLE SPEED GEARING Filed Sept. 29, 1941 mm hm #N /N vENToR:

@y ma# constitutes a part of the ultimate drive.

Patented Nov. 1I),r 142 v 2,301,352 srrcrcmc vAmAnLn srsnn emma William Brown, Nottingham, England, assignor to Sturmey-Archer Gears Limited, Nottingham,

England Application September 29, 1941, Serial No. 412,773 In Great Britain April Z0, 1940 This invention relates to epi-cyclic variable speed gearing, by which term is meant an arrangement of gearing for providing a variable ratio not only between in-put and out-put speeds, but between in-put and out-put torques also.

The primary adaptation of the invention, as at present contemplated, is to variable speed gear hubs for cycles, in which arrangements the gearing is enclosed or housed within a member which However, the invention is applicable also to gears for other purposes, including those in which the gearing is enclosed in a xed casing, and whether the central axle is stationary, as in la cycle hub, or not.

The invention comprises improvements in variable speed gears of a type or class deilned by having an epicyclic train in combination with alternative ratchet and pawl drives to the final out-put member, and by having means for coupling the in-put member to the annulus of the train so as to drive the out-put member either directly through one of the ratchets, or indirectlythrough the planet cage and the other ratchet. An example of gear having this characteristic may be found in the specification of U. S. Patent No. 2,168,600 August 8, 1939.

movement of the first selector, i. e. regardless as With such arrangement, as hitherto known, l

the maximum number of speeds obtainable with a single epi-cyclic train, i. e. with a single annulus, has been three, and it is one object of this invention to provide for one, two, or more additional speeds and without necessitating any substantial modification in the design of the parts hitherto employed.

According to this invention, there are provided two or more co-axial sun wheels for the said epicyclic train, with supplementary planet pinions engaging a common annulus, and means is provided for selectively bringing one or other of these sun wheels into the drive, at will. The common annulus may be of uniform diameter and engage with one part only of compound planet pinions, or engage with independent pinions of different diameter mounted on different axles; or the common annulus may be of two or more diameters, each part having its own set of planet pinions, the arrangement used being dependent on the gear ratios required. A

With gears, of the class or type above defined, having the alternative ratchet and pawl drives, one of which is overrun when the other is operative and the other of which is tripped out when the one is operative, three speeds may be obtained by moving a control member progressively through three positions, representing seriatim decrease, "direct-drive and increase In some forms of the present invention, the selection of the alternative sun wheels to provide a fourth speed (also a decrease), is obtained by a further movement of the control member in thesame direction, but so that its fourth selection becomes cumulative with the third selection and not in place of it. A limitation of this Vform of the `invention is that it is not possible to have both increase andV decrease with the additional sun wheel in use.

In other forms, however, and according to a further feature of the invention, additional control means is provided, whereby the alternative sun wheels may be selected independently of the to whether the epi-cyclic system is arranged for increase, direct-drive, or decrease. control makes it possible to obtain the increase and the decrease with any one of the sun wheels, so that the total number of speeds available from the gear will always be one more (representing the direct drive) than twice the number of sun wheels.

The drawing filed herewith shows examples of the improved gear, as adapted for use in a hubgear of a, pedal cycle:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a four-speed hub-gear on its median plane;

Figs. 2 and 3 are transverse sections on the lines 2--2 and 3-3 of Fig. l respectively, to a smaller scale;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section to illustrate a modification which adapts the gear as a tive-speed gear; and

, Fig. 5 is a like View to Fig. 4 illustrating an adaptation of the gear as a seven-speed gear.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawing, there is a fixed central axle I, on the ends of which are cones 2 which, by means of the bearing-balls 3, support respectively the driving dog 4, carrying the driving sprocket 5, and the supporting member S carrying one end of the hub shell 1, the other end of which is mounted on the supporting member 8, which, in turn is journaled by the bearing-balls 9 on the said driving dog 4. The supporting members 6 and 8 are formed with ratchet teeth III and I I respectively on their inner face. Surrounding the central axle I is the planet cage I2, which carries three compound planet pinions I3 on studs I4, and the outer end of that cage carries ratchet pawls at I5 to cooperate with the teeth Ill on the supporting member 6. The pawl or pawls I5 for the ratchet III Such dual in continual engagement with the ratchet teeth I of the supporting member 6 and do not need to be tripped at any time. Meshing with the smaller parts of the compound pinions I3, is the internally-toothed annulus I6, which carries pawls at I1 co-operating with the teeth II on the supporting member 8. The pawls Il for the ratchet II lie in the groove in the annulus I6. 'I'hese pawls Il are pivotally mounted as at I'Ia and, in addition to engaging the ratchet teeth I I, have extensions IIb passing through slots I'Ic in the iloor or web of the said groove. These extensions of said pawls are dislodged by the sliding member 23 when in the extreme right hand position so as to move the pawls about their fulcra and withdraw their tips from the ratchet teeth II.

The inner part of the planet-cage I2, is formed with lateral dogs I8, and the annulus I5 is formed with two sets of internal dogs or splines I9 and 20, in different transverse planes. Slidable on the axle I, by means of a control member 2l and key 2Ia, and against the resistance of a spring 22, is a sliding dog 23, which may engage either with the dogs I8 on the planet cage or with the dogs III on the annulus or with the dogs 2U in the annulus, this three-point control providing three speeds as in the known arrangements, for example in the gear shown in Patent No. 2,168,600. The sliding dog 23 at the extreme end of its movement to the right is carried into engagement with the extensions of the pawls II and move the same about their pivots Ila and withdraw said pawls Il from engagement with the ratchet teeth II.

Loosely and slidably mounted on the axle I, are two sun wheels 24 and 25, in constant mesh respectively with thev larger and smaller parts of the compound pinions I3. The sun wheel 2d is adapted to engage with internal dogs 26 in a fixed ring 2l, so as to be held stationary thereby, whilst the sun wheel 25 carries lateral dogs 23 to engage with fixed dogs 29 on the axle and so be held stationary. These two sun wheels, although independently rotatable, are adapted to be moved axially as one, by means of a key 3G on the control member 2l, and a spring 3I surrounding the axle. The sun wheel 24 is mounted on a sleeve having a ange or collar to impart the thrust for the axial movement. The control member 2I is of reduced diameter where it passes through the key 30, so as not to affect such key until the shoulder 2Ib comes into contact therewith.

In operation, with the gears as shown in Fig. 1 the sun wheel 24 is xed, and therefore provides the reaction for the epi-cyclic train; the sun wheel 25 merely idling around the fixed axle I. By moving the control member 2l axially, in known manner, three speeds are obtainable, as in the previous constructions; the decrease speed being obtained when the sliding dog 23 is in engagement with the splines 2@ and has tripped the pawls Il out of action; the shoulder 2lb having then come up to the key 30, and the sliding dog 23 having been arrested, either by the spring 22 being compressed solid, or by the key 2Ia having come up against the end of its slot. Now by moving the control 2I still further to the right (Fig. 1), against the resistance of the small but stronger spring 2 Ic, the sun wheels 24 and 25 are moved axially, so as first to release 'lie in the groove of member I2, as clearly shown at the upper left hand corner of Fig. 1, and arel owing to the different sizes of the two sun wheels.

- another decrease speed is obtained, thusmaking the gear a four-speed gear. In the reverse direction of the control member 2|, since the spring 2| c is stronger than spring 22, the dog 23 is held in its extreme right position (Fig. l) until the sun wheels have moved to their extreme left position. In more detail, the several speeds are obtained as follows: With the parts as shown in Fig. 1 the sun wheel 24 is keyed to the axle by the member 21 and therefore provides the reaction in theepicyclic train. The drive enters at wheel 5 and is transmitted by the long projections on member 4 to the sliding clutch 23 which engages with dogs I8 on the planet carrier I2 and therefore rotates that carrier. The consequent rotation of the pinions I3 is imparted to the annulus I6 which, by means of the ratchet pawls Il, drives the hub through the ratchet teeth II. If now clutch 23 is moved to the right to engage the dogs I9, the drive is transmitted from that clutch to those dogs and therefore to the annulus I6 which again drives the hub through the ratchet teeth II, this being a direct drive. If now clutch 23 is moved further to the right to engage the dogs 2li, in doing which it trips the ratchet pawls out of the teeth II as before explained, the drive is therefore transmitted from clutch 23 to annulus I6, from there back to the pinions I3, which cause rotation of the planet carrier I2, which last, by its ratchet pawls, drives the hub through the ratchet teeth Id. Still further movement of the operating member 2i, whilst not effecting further movement of clutch 23, withdraws sun wheel 22 from member 2l and engages sun wheel 25 with member 29 so that sun wheel 25 now provides the necessary reaction and by virtue of its dierence of diameter brings about a different speed variation between members 5 and I. When the hub is being driven through the teeth I I, since it is rotating at a faster rate than are the teeth on the planet carrier I2, it overtakes those teeth in the nature of a free wheel device. According to the modification illustrated in 'Fig 4, the sun wheels 24 and 25 are unaffected by the control 2|, but instead they have an independent control 32. In this form of the invention the sun wheel 25 is normally the Yfixed one, by engagement of the do'gs 28 and 29, but may be released by operation of thecontrol 32, the continued operation of that control, against spring 32a causing the sun wheel 24 to be arrested by engagement with the dogs 2G (not shown in Fig. 4). Spring 2I causes sun wheel 25 to follow wheel 24, as in Fig. 1. Accordingly, the sliding dog 23 may move to any of its three alternative positions to give increase, direct or decrease drives, whichever wheel 24 or 25 is in action. In all, therefore, five different speeds are obtainable with this form of the invention. Actually, six drives are obtainable, but as two of them are a direct drive, only ve ratios result.

Referring noW to Fig. 5 there may be more than two alternative sun wheels, and in that figure three such wheels are indicated. In this arrangement, as shown, the sun wheels do not move axially, but are selected by means of an internal sliding key 33 which may be moved in to one or other of the sun wheels to anchor it to the xed axle. The sun wheel at the left-hand end has lateral dogs 3 4, the central sun wheel is xed to a sleeve having internal dogs 35, and the wheel 24 and then to arrest wheel 25, whereby, 75 other end sunwheel has internal dogs 36. The

key I3 is shown in engagement with the dogs 35. Any other suitable form of selector mechanism may be adopted. There are three working positions of clutch 23 irrespective of whichever sun wheel is keyed Ito the axle, so that in all there would be nine drives. However, as in one of each of the three positions of the member 23 there is a direct drive to the hub three of those nine drives are identical, bringing the total down to seven. Therefore, allowing a direct drive for one position of the clutch 23, each of the other two positions provides as many drives as there are sun wheels, so that the total is always twice the number of sun wheels plus one.

Whilst in the modications illustrated the independent controls are shown as operable, from different ends of the'axle, this need not necessarily be so. They could extend both from, the same end of the axle, either one within the other, or side by side, and could be operated by separate wires (or the like), or, with suitable lost-motion or added-motion mechanism, by a single Wire l (or the like).

What I claim is:

1. An epi-cyclic variable speed gear comprising an epi-cyclic gear train including an annulus, a planet cage, compound planet pinions carried thereby, a sliding clutch for selectively coupling a driving member to the planet cage or to the annulus of the epi-cyclic train, a plurality of differently-sized sun wheels for said train, said compound planet pinions being in constant mesh therewith, and said clutch having a sliding clutch means for selectively coupling any one of the sun wheels to a xed member to provide the necessary reaction for the train. Y

2. An epi-cyclic variable speed gear comprising a central axle, a planet cage, an annulus, a driving member and a driven member, all rotatably mounted about the axle, a pawl and ratchet drive from the annulus to the driven member, and a further pawl andratchet drive from the planet cage to the driven member, sun Wheels arranged rotatably on the axle, and compound planet pinions in the planet cage in constant mesh therewith, a clutch member slidable along the axle between three positions, in one of which it couples the driving member to the planet cage, in another of which it couples the driving member to the annulus, and in the third of which it both couples the driving member to the annulus and trips out the pawls thereon to release it from the ratchet, and clutch member operating means slidable in the axle to lock any one of the sun wheels thereto and provide the reaction for the epi-cyclic train.

3. An epi-cyclic variable speed gear according to claim 2 wherein the sliding clutches receive their sliding movement from a single reciprocating member housed within the axle, and wherein there is a lost motion between such member and one of the clutches, a spring being provided to retain that clutch in its normal position Whilst the lost motion occurs.

4. An epi-cyclic variable speed gear according to claim 2 wherein one clutch receives its sliding motion from a member projecting from one end of the axle, whilst the other receives its motion from a member projecting from the other end of the axle, the said members being independent of each other for independent movement.

5. An epi-cyclic variable speed gear according to claim 2 wherein the selection amongst the sun wheels is made by means of a key slidably through them.

6. In an epicyclic Variable speed gear having'a t sliding clutch for selectively coupling a driving member to a planet cage or to an annulus of the epicyclic train, the combination therewith of three side-by-side sun Wheels each of diierent diamn eter, and compound pinions in the planet cage in constant mesh therewith, the centre sun wheel being -ixedly mounted on a sleeve which also projects into one outer sun wheel, clutch teeth on the side face of the other outer sun wheel, clutch teeth within the said sleeve and clutch teeth within the iirst-named outer sun wheel, and a key slidable so as to engage with any of such clutch teeth to hold the corresponding sun wheel against rotation and provide a reaction for the epicyclic train.

7. An epicyclic variable speed gear comprising a fixed central axle, a selector slidable thereon against the pressure of a spring, rotatable sun wheels also slidable thereon against the pressure of a further spring, a key acting on the selector to impart its sliding movement and a further key acting on the sun wheels to impart their sliding movement, a draw rod passing through lboth keys, a strong spring on such rod to impart movement to the first named key, and a lost-motion space between the draw rod and the second-named key, such space allowing movement of the first key without the second, and the strong spring allowing movement of the second key without the rst.

8. An epicyclic variable speed gear comprising a iixed central axle, two sets of clutch teeth thereon, a pair of side-by-side sun wheels rotatable on the axle and slidable together between the two sets of clutch teeth so that each wheel may engage with the adjacent clutch teeth whilst the other is free, and a spring normally holding the sun wheels at one end of their sliding movement; a planet cage rotatable about the axle and carrying compound planet pinions in constant mesh with both the sun wheels, ratchet pawls on the planet cage; an annulus around the axle in constant mesh with the compound pinions, ratchet pawls on the annulus; a driving member and a driven member, two sets of ratchet teeth on the driven member, to engage respectively with the pawls on the planet cage and the pawls on the annulus; a clutch member in constant engagement with the driving member and slidable along the axle to engage either the planet cage or the annulus, or both to engage the annulus and trip its pawls out of their ratchet teeth, a spring normally holding such clutch member at one end of its path in engagement with the planet cage; and a sliding rod in the axle with a key to operate the said clutch member slidewise, and a further key to operate the sun wheelsslidewise, a spring to hold that rod normally in its neutral position, such spring providing the connection between the rod and the key for the clutch member and being stronger than that which returns the clutch member, and said rod being shaped so as not to shift the sun wheel key until it has shifted the clutch member key to the full end of the stroke against its spring. A

9. An epicyclic variable speed gear comprising a fixed central axle, two sets of clutch teeth thereon, a pair of side-by-side sun wheels rotatable on the axle and slidable together between the two sets of clutch teeth so that each wheel may engage with 4the adjacent clutch teeth Whilst the other is free, and a spring normally holding the sun wheels at one end of their sliding movement; a planet cage rotatable about the axle and carrying compound planet pinions in constant mesh with both the sun wheels, ratchet pawls on the planet cage; an annulus around the axle in constant mesh with the compound pinions, ratchet pawls on the annulus; a. driving member and a driven member, two sets ol ratchet teeth on the driven member, to engage respectively with the pawls on the planet cage and the pawls on the annulus; a clutch member in constant engagement with the driving member and slidable along the aXle to engage either the planet cage or the annulus, or both to engage the annulus and trip its Dawls out of their a further spring to cause the other of the sun wheels to follow the movements ofthe one engaged by the key.

W. BROWN. 

